The Raven's Fox
by GNFreak
Summary: FemNaru. One small mistake in a hand-seal shouldn't have sent her in a world where ninja don't exist, in a world where women were thought to be less than men, but of course the Academy never taught her that. It was okay for Naruto. It was okay because she found a reason to fight. It was for that reason alone, she was going to play the Game of Thrones but she was doing it her way.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I know I should be updating my other stories but I've had this in my mind for a very long time now.

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Naruto had barely turned thirteen when she found herself in a world so unlike her own.

It just took one small mistake in her hand seal for her to find herself in a whole different world. That small mistake caused her to go into a whole different path then she imagined herself to have. If Naruto could see into the future, if she could have had known what stealing that scroll would have done to her, she wouldn't have done it. She wanted to pass the exam so badly but not so much she would take the risk of going into a whole different world. God she wanted to pass that exam so badly. She wanted to be a ninja. She wanted to be a Hokage and have everyone's respect but she didn't want any of it if it meant she was in a whole different world.

It was all Mizuki's fault she was in this mess. It was her fault for listening to that teacher of hers instead of going to Iruka-sensei about taking another test or even confirming it with the Hokage.

The Hokage.

What would he say if he found out what she did? Would he give her one of those disappointed looks and lecture her about how she should have gone to him about these things? Or would he look her with those sad eyes that just said he understood her pain (he really didn't understand because what did he know about the life she had) before trying to comfort her about it. If nothing had went wrong, he would have scolded her about how lucky nothing bad happened because a small mistake in a seal could cost a person's life as he always told her. Looking at her current situation, she understood what the old man meant about it costing her life.

Seriously, how was she going to get herself out of this mess this time? It wasn't like she could give a cheeky smile and make some smartass comment to her teacher or give the puppy dog look that she knew all too well that her sensei could never say no to.

Slumping her shoulders, Naruto finally tore her gaze away from the ceiling and stared down at the fur wrapped around her. She closed her eyes and touched the fur, marveling at how soft it felt around her fingers. It felt fuzzy underneath her hands yet it emulated the warmth she often tried to grab hold of, the warmth she wanted so badly in the winters that she had to face before the Hokage had found her in the streets shivering and starving.

Despite their country being called Hi no Kuni, the country was filled with icy winds during the winter with snow filling up the land. The whole village would have a blanket of snow over it as if to tell the people of the village that they must never forget the snow and how unforgiving it was because despite its beautiful appearance, the snow was the most lethal weapon the village had beside its own ninja. There was a joke with the villagers that the country shouldn't be called Hi no Kuni but Samui no Kuni for its coldness though the village was scorching hot during the summer.

She shook her head and scanned the room, trying to find any clues on where she could be. She was definitely not at home in her comfy bed with her windows shut or the Hokage's house where Konohamaru would have jumped on the bed in order to wake her up for breakfast. Her blood turned cold when she noticed the lack of lights in the room and how the windows in the room weren't made of glass but wood. Konoha was the most developed village in the whole world with even the people living in the slums having windows made out of glass. There was no such thing as a window made out of wood in Konoha or in the country of Hi no Kuni.

Where the hell was she really? Could she be in Sunagakure? The people there were strange with their customs and how poor their village was. Maybe those people had windows made out of glass! _You know that isn't true,_ a small voice in her mind whispered as she gazed at her surroundings, _everyone knows that Sunagakure is always hot with its blazing sun looming over them. This isn't your world and you know it._

Her musings were interrupted when she heard the door creaked open, revealing an older man dressed in clothes that just reminded her of the fantasy manga she used to love to read with Kiba and the others. He was an intimidating man with his long face that looked as if he didn't know how to smile or have fun but his eyes were kind, Naruto thought to herself, gazing at the man's dark grey eyes. She could tell by looking into his eyes that this man was filled with a lot of warmth though it was hard to see with his dark grey eyes.

 _"What's your name?"_ Naruto blinked her eyes, tilted her head and furrowed her eyebrows at him. Now she knew she wasn't the smartest person in the world but she did know without a doubt he was speaking a whole different language to her. It didn't sound anything like her language, didn't sound like anything she had ever heard before and there was definitely no words in common between them. _"Can you not understand me child?"_

She blinked her eyes at him and then gazed out at the window, where the only sounds that seemed to come out of the window were those of children's laughter. Curling her lips, she gazed at the solemn faced man. "Where the hell am I? Why can't I understand you?," she could feel herself becoming more and more hysterical when she noticed how confused the man in front of her look. This couldn't be her bad luck could it? This was not because of all the pranks she played to her teachers right! " Are you near Konoha or Hi no Kuni? Old man tell me where the hell am I!"

 _"I can't understand you child. What's your name? My name is Eddard Stark."_ She didn't understand what he was trying to say to her but she did understand that this man wasn't going to harm her in anyway and that his eyes radiated the same kindness that the Hokage radiated. He stared solemnly at her. _"Eddard Stark,"_ he repeated slowly and clearly to her

 _Maybe he's telling me his name,_ she thought to herself. _"_ Eddard Stark, _"_ his name felt foreign in her mouth and it was hard to pronounce his name with how she had never heard of his name before. She flushed a light red when she noticed that the older male stared at her as if he didn't know what to think at how she couldn't pronounce his name but Naruto never heard the name Eddard before. She heard of plenty of weird names but not once in her life did she ever hear the name Eddard before.

"Uzumaki Naruto," she said slowly and clearly to him , placing her hand on her chest before wrapping herself tighter around the blankets of fur in the bed. She bit her lips to stop herself from laughing at how the older man's tongue stumbled as he tried to pronounce her name. Her smile faded when she noticed the distinct lack of headband on the man. "Naruto," she repeated, hoping the man would understand that she was trying to tell him that her name was Naruto.

 _"_ Where am I? _"_ She gestured around the room before gesturing towards him and then to her in a way that she hoped would convey her question, _"_ How did you find me Stark?"

The man stared, pursed his lips and sighed, a sign for Naruto to know that the man understood what she was trying to say. " _I found you after you fell mid-air from the sky."_

She furrowed her eyebrows at him before slumping her shoulders at him. How could she think she could understand the man in front of her? The man didn't have any words in common with her so how could she think he could answer her question without her knowing his language. She curled her hands into a fist and closed her eyes as she tried to imagine the best way to kill her bastard of a sensei. It was the man's fault she was in this mess. If he hadn't told her to steal the scroll she wouldn't be in this mess.

Wait a second, where the hell was the scroll?

Tearing her gaze away from the older man, Naruto started to look around the room for the huge scroll she had stolen from the Hokage. Her blood turned cold as she realized that the scroll she risk her life for wasn't in the room with her. What was she going to do when she got back home? How was she going to explain this to the old man? Oh god, she was in so much trouble for this stunt of hers.

 _"It's remarkable how fast she woke up my lord,"_ Naruto blinked her eyes, twisted her head around and gawked at the sight of an old man standing in front of the door. The old man in front of her looked so much older than the Hokage. It wouldn't surprise her if the old man was the same age as the Shodai Hokage since he looked so old she was afraid he would fall down if she even pushed him around. She kept her eyes fixed at the old man, whose grey eyes flickered to her hair and then to her eyes. _"Any person in her situation would have taken days or even weeks before they were able to wake up and move the way she did."_

 _"Remarkable indeed,"_ The man Eddard said, gazing at her hair and then to her eyes. " _Is it possible for a child to survive a fall like she had and not have any injuries?"_

 _"No my lord but perhaps the gods had chosen to give her mercy,"_ The old man stated, wobbling towards her. Naruto blinked her eyes when the old man grabbed her arms, stared at her skin before gingerly touching her head as if he was afraid he was going to break her. She snorted at the thought. Nothing in the world could break her! She was Uzumaki Naruto and nothing in the world could hurt her or so she assured herself as she tried to push back the memories of betrayal from her teacher. " _It's truly odd how she has not a scratch on her head or how her hands no signs of any scarring from the tree branches she broke from her fall."_

Blinking her eyes, Naruto tilted her head at the two men. "What are you old geezers talking about? And what language are you guys speaking? And where the hell am I?" She tried to contain the bubbles of hysteria that was just ready to explode. It would do her no good if she showed them she was scared. "Where am I? Where's the scroll? Am I anywhere near Konoha? Answer me old man!"

 _"Do you understand the language she speaks Maester Luwin,"_ Eddard stared at her, _"She doesn't speak the common tongue."_

The old man shook his head. " _She doesn't speak any language I have ever heard of...she's might be from the free cities."_

 _"Perhaps but not even the people in the free cities wear the clothes she does,"_ Naruto crossed her arms when the two man gazed at her sleeveless kimono shirt with raised eyebrows, " _And her clothes seemed to be made from a fabric not found neither here nor the free cities. It also does not explain how she fell from the sky. It is almost as if the old gods brought her here for a reason."_

 _"There can be another explanation then the gods. The gods, neither old or new, have never been known to interfere with the affairs of man and why a girl of all people?"_

 _"What else can explain how a young girl could fall down from the sky and have not a single scratch on her?"_ The dark-haired man stared at her hands and then to her head before shaking his head. " _It's the only explanation why she fell from the sky. She didn't make any sound that indicated she was climbing the trees, I would have heard her if she made a sound."_

 _"Perhaps I should send a raven to the Archmaester Marwyn about this..."_

 _"No,"_ Eddard stared at her whiskered marked cheeks, " _No one else must get involved with this matter. Maester Luwin, a sorcery of this level should be known to all those who studied Valyrian steel ink. If you haven't heard of a way for a child to appear mid-air in your studying then I'm content to know it is beyond possibility."_

Crossing her arms, Naruto narrowed her eyes when she noticed the old man looked uncomfortable, which only made her even more irritated at the fact she didn't understand what the two men were talking about. "What the hell are you old geezers talking about? And I'm right here! If you want to say something say it to my face."

 _"I've a feeling that the girl is going to get along very well with Arya,"_ Eddard said wearily, gazing at her. _"Naruto Uzumaki,"_ she looked up at him with crossed arms as she waited for him to try to explain to her what he was talking about, only for him to turn to the old man beside her. " _What a strange name she has, I wonder who gives such a masculine name to a girl."_

 _"_ I don't know what the hell are you talking about but I want answers now!" She cried out, tugging her pigtails at them. It felt like she was talking to the Hokage again with the only difference being, the old man ignored her as he did those paperwork of his. "Please," she felt her throat tightened as tears started to come out of her eyes, "Stark-san, where am I?" She pointed out of the window, where she could hear the laughter of other children. "Where am I? Is this anywhere near Konoha"

The two men stared out of the window then to her with furrowed eyebrows but it was the old man who quickly figured out what she was trying to ask. " _Winterfell_ ," she scrunched her eyebrows at the ancient man, who pointed out of the window, _"This is Winterfell."_

She felt her head become light weighted as the realization of what the old man was trying to say to her. She didn't to be smart like Sasuke or be a secret genius like Shikamaru to know the man had just told her she wasn't home. She didn't need to repeat her question to know Winterfell was the name of this place or look at a map to know she was nowhere near home. All she needed was the name of this place and the looks of pity from the old man to know she was nowhere near home.

So it wasn't a surprise that she fainted when she realized just how much trouble she was in.

God damn it, she was an idiot to listen to Mizuki.

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A/N: Please review.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I want to thank everyone who added this story to their favourites and follows as well as to everyone who reviewed the first chapter.**

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Crossing her arms against her chest, Naruto couldn't stop herself from scowling at the sight of the dark fur dresses on her bed. She was barely here for a day and already she hated this place, hated their customs about what a girl had to wear. The old man had thrust her dress, gave her a disapproving look at the sight of her pants before making her a hand gesture that told her all too well she had to wear the dress he gave her. She gritted her teeth as she gazed at the dark fur dress. It would be the first time in years that she wore a dress...she couldn't remember the last time she wore a dress. Taking in a deep breath, she stared at the dress. She couldn't deny the dress was beautiful but if only one liked wearing heavy dresses that seemed to be so hard to move around.

Why couldn't this have happened to Sakura or Ino? Those two would have adored wearing those dresses and would have squealed at the idea of getting free clothes. Kami must hate her for all the pranks she had done to the villagers, even if those bastard of villagers deserved every prank. Shaking her head, Naruto licked her cracked lips and undid her kimono shirt and took off her pants before grabbing the fur dress from the bed.

Could she just wear her shirt and pretend that the dress had somehow fallen from the window? She asked herself, wrinkling her nose as she looked at the dress from afar. The winds in her room were strong enough that it wouldn't be completely impossible for the dress to fly away from her hands but Naruto had no doubt those old men would give her more dresses to wear. She scowled as she remembered how the old man gazed at her shirt and pants with a disapproving look. If the old man thought her clothes were bad, then how would he react if he saw the clothes some of the girls in her year wore? He would have a heart attack if he saw how short their pants could get.

With great reluctance, she pulled the fur dress over her head before taking a seat on the bed. It felt weird to wear a dress, she thought to herself as she undo her pigtails, after years of wearing pants and to suddenly wear a dress felt weird for her. Grimacing, she twisted and twirled her hair into a single braid that barely reached pass her neck before opening the room's windows, where the sounds of swords clashing echoed throughout the area.

Leaning towards the window, Naruto watched as two men swung their swords at each other. It was different from watching her two ANBU guards practice, she thought to herself, noticing how their swords didn't seem to be a part of themselves. It would be very easy to trick them, Naruto mused to herself, watching how the sword fell from the younger man's arms. She flickered her eyes at the scroll beside her bedside. It took a lot of hand gestures and confusion before she was able to get the scroll from the two men. She couldn't tell them what was in it when she didn't know what was in there beside jutsu and she wasn't going to tell them about that. Something told her not to tell them what was it.

She shut the windows when she heard someone knocking at her door. Smoothing her hair, she opened the doors and sighed in relief when she saw the old man Luwin staring at her. He stared at her dress, gazed at her braided hair before bobbing his head in appreciation at her. " _I'm going to take you to Lord Stark,"_ she didn't know what he was saying but she knew she needed to nod her head at him. " _And I'm going to introduce you to his whole family."_

She raised her eyebrows at him. The old man sighed at her before making some weird gesture to her that just made her want to throttle the man and ask him what the hell he was trying to say to her? If she wasn't grateful for him and Eddard, she would shake his shoulders and asked him what was he trying to her. Shaking her head, she furrowed her eyebrows as the old man wobbled towards the window, opening it and pointing towards two boys and then to a random female before pointing to a random male. She scratched her head, tilted her head and said, "Family? What about family?"

 _"You''ll meet Lord Stark's family,"_ Luwin stated, pointing towards the random children, man and woman. Twirling her hair around her finger, she slowly realized that the man was talking about the older male and his family. She tilted her head at her. " _And you must not say anything to them until Lord Stark speaks to you."_

Naruto shrugged her shoulders and nodded. She didn't understand what the hell was going on but she did know this, she needed to learn their language because she hated feeling like a complete idiot. Shaking her head, she cast one last glance to the window, where she could see two boys being trained with wooden swords. That would have been her in Konoha, she thought bitterly to herself, clenching her hands into a fist. She would have been training in the village if it weren't for Mizuki and his ideas. She would have been doing a retest if she had used her head and go to the Hokage about this.

She didn't use her head and that cost her home and her dream.

 _"Naruto."_ She tore her eyes away from the two boys and stared at the old man, who stared at her with pity as he stood beside the open door. She smiled widely at him, hoping that the man would just see the surface of her smile and stop looking at her with eyes filled with so much pity. He shook his head at her. " _A smile won't solve your problems or hide your feelings, it'll just prevent the inevitable."_ With those words, he stepped out of the door and stared at her expectantly, no doubt waiting for her to start following him.

She smiled even wider at him which only caused the old man to smile sadly at her as if he knew the truth behind those smiles of hers. He didn't know of course, she reassured herself as she took her time to walk towards the old man, no one understood her smiles except Weasel and Dog. Her ANBU guards understood her smiles because they watched her, had seen her real smiles and knew what each one of her smiles meant. Not even the Hokage understood them, always thinking she was fine when she really wasn't fine.

Shaking her head, she slowly made her way out of the door to follow the old man but not before casting one last at the room, where she could still hear the clashing of two swords. One day, she promised herself, one day she would wield a katana and become a master in kenjutsu just as her idol had been. Nodding her head, she turned her head away from the room, picked up her dress and continued to follow the old man who just gazed at her with pity.

One day she was going to make the old man not look at her with pity, she thought to herself, one day she was going to make him look at her with awe because Naruto Uzumaki despised pity.

* * *

Jon watched as the Maester Luwin bowed deeply to his lord father and wife and Jon strained his ear to hear what the old man had to say to his lord father. "My Lord, a girl has just arrived after dawn and I believe she seeks some kind of audience with you," his older brother glanced at him but Jon furrowed his eyebrows as he gazed at his father, who had a stony look on his face as he nodded his head to the old Maester.

"You believe?" Lady Stark asked, looking puzzled at the old man. "Why are you not sure Maester Luwin?"

"She does not speak the Common Tongue, my lady," Maester Luwin explained.

"No Common Tongue? That's ridiculous!" Ser Rodrick exclaimed, grabbing everyone's attention. "How could a girl travel by herself if she does not speak the Common Tongue and by herself! It's absurb!"

"I can only guess Ser Rodrick. That is why it has taken me this long to bring this matter to your attention, my lord," Maester Luwin glanced over his back, making Jon craned his neck to see what the old man was looking at but only to find it difficult to do so, "Despite my knowledge of several languages, communication with the girl is very difficult. She doesn't respond to any form of language I use."

 _How was he able to communicate with her then?_ Jon couldn't help but asked himself as he watched his half-brother get nudged by his father's ward Theon, who whispered loudly the question that seemed to be running in everyone's mind: why was a girl from the free cities here? Lady Stark seemed to be also interested as she asked the same question to the Maester Luwin.

"None of the words she spoke have given me any indication on why she traveled so far, My Lady, but the only reason I can think of for a girl her age to travel so away from home without any knowledge of the Common Tongue, would be because of fear."

A look of concern passed across Lady Stark's face. "Has the girl been mistreated?"

Maester Luwin grimaced and nodded his head. "She's thinner than a girl her age should be and her dress no longer fits her but I hope you will not object if I give the girl a new set of clothes to wear."

"Of course not," his father said. "Bring her here, Maester Luwin. I would see the girl for myself."

Maester Luwin bowed and swept from the halls as the babble of chatter returned to the hall. His lord father and his wife glanced at each other before sweeping a look at the rest of them. Jon stared down at his food. Was it a good idea for the Maester to bring a mistreated girl into a place full of people? Would she not be frightened of them? Would she not be afraid of the sight of so many warriors? He took a bite of his apple and glanced at his siblings.

"Whatever her reason may be," Theon started, breaking off a chunk of bread. "I know if I am from the Free Cities I'd want to get away from there."

"Yes but it's odd though, she's only a child," His half-brother Robb stated, "And the Maester Luwin didn't say if she was by herself. It's a long and dangerous journey for a girl to make on their own especially without any protection."

"Can we keep her Father?" His youngest half-sister Arya asked. "I want more children to play with."

"She's not a possession Arya," his father scolded.

"And how can you play with her if she doesn't speak the Common Tongue?" Sansa asked, speaking with an air of disdain. "And who says the people of the Free Cities play the same games over there."

"She could always teach us a new game," Bran stated, "I'm bored with the games we play."

Everyone became quiet when Maester Luwin re-entered the hall. Everyone in the hall stood up to get a better look at the children.

"She's not a child," Theon pointed out to them when the girl came into view. She was very beautiful, Jon Snow thought, staring at the girl. She had golden blond hair that was tied into a single braid and had blue eyes that just reminded him of the blue roses that grew in the glass gardens but what stood out about her was the whisker marks that decorated her cheeks. "She's nearly a woman. She looks old enough to be wedded-or at least the bedding bit," Jon frowned, gazed at the blond-haired girl who just gazed at the place with curiosity and wonder but her eyes stopped at him. She tilted her head, flickered her eyes at his Lord Father then to him before giving him a smile before giving the other members of the Stark household a smile.

"I present Naruto, my lord," Maester Luwin said, drawing his attention to his lord father. The girl hesitated, looking almost resentful at them, before dropping herself into a curtsy but Jon knew like so many others in the household did that the girl was not used to curtsying like most ladies were. As soon as she finished curtsying, the girl stood up straight and stared at each one member of his father's family with weariness.

"You're most welcome here," His father said, earning a blank look from the girl, who just gazed at the old man Maester Luwin. The old man sighed before making some kind of hand gesture to the girl. She blinked her eyes at his father, gave him a smile that seemed to be a lot warmer than any smiles he had ever seen in the girls in this village.

"She'll not be a child for much longer," Lady Stark observed, "Can you ask her, her age?"

The Maester nodded and did as his lady requested, making some hand gestures to the girl, who stared blankly at him but only seemed to understand when he pointed to her and raised his hands to give numbers. The girl stared at his father's wife, pursed her lips and answered. _"Twelve,"_ she said, making the hand gesture to signify she had over twelve name days.

Lady Stark nodded, gazed at the young girl, who just stood straight and gave the woman a bright smile but Jon could see her smile was fake. She was not happy to be here, he thought to himself, gazing at the girl's eyes. Most girls would be happy but this girl was not. She gazed at his half-brother and then to Theon who gave her a smile, which earned a snort from the girl. Most girls would blush at Theon or flutter their eyebrows at his half-brother but she did not, instead she looked at the members of his family before finally fixing her eyes on him.

She tilted her head, gazed at him and then to his father before gazing at his siblings. She then stared at his lord father's mother before looking at him again. Shaking her head, she gazed at his father who stared back at her.

 _"_ Maester Luwin, is it possible for you to teach her the Common Tongue? Once we're able to find out about why she left the Free Cities, we might be able to assist the girl further." Lady Stark said.

"It'll take time to teach the girl the Common Tongue especially since the language she speaks...is very much unlike our own but I see no reason why she could not become speakers of our tongue," Maester Luwin said, gazing at the golden-haired girl who just stood there with a smile.

"Does all she do is smile? Why is she so happy?" Theon asked, eyeing the girl.

She isn't happy, Jon thought to himself, noticing the way the girl clenched her hands into a fist and how her eyes would occasionally flicker to the doors as if she was trying to find someway to escape from here. She doesn't want to be here, he wanted to say to them but it was not his place to speak. Lady Stark would not like to hear his comment and there was a reason why the girl came here even if she was unhappy here.

"It is important that we find a place for the girl to sleep," Maester Luwin stated.

Theon gazed at the girl's body and said with a lewd smile, "She can share my bed if she wish."

The girl turned her head and gazed at Theon, who smiled even wider at her. Naruto raised her eyebrows, scowled and said, " _I might not understand you but I'm not an idiot to know how you look at me! I'm not that kind of girl! I can cut the part that makes you a man if you aren't careful!"_

"What did the girl say?" Lady Stark asked.

The maester sighed and made a hand gesture to the girl, who just fixed her eyes at Theon and made a gesture to the older boy and to his pants, making pulling gestures at it. The old man paled, flickered his eyes at the boy before looking shocked at the girl. "She says if I'm not mistaken that if Theon insults her one more time, she would not hesitate to cut his manhood off," the girl nodded her head, earning a smile from Arya and a look of horror from Sansa and Lady Stark, "She's jestering my lady. She's not capable of doing something like that."

No, the girl didn't look like she could harm someone, Jon thought, staring at the girl whose eyes held fury as she gazed at Theon, but she wasn't jestering about harming Theon. If the girl had a knife in her hand, he had no doubt the girl would have used it on the older boy. Something told him that Theon better keep his mouth shut or else he would lose the one part that made him a man.

"Do the Free Cities not have a sense of propriety?" Lady Stark asked after she got over her shock. "And Theon you should not speak to our guest like that!"

The maester Luwin gazed at the furious blond before shaking his head. "Even if they did, I doubt this young lady would care much about it.

"You shall teach the girl propriety," Lady Stark said, gazing with narrowed eyes at the blond. "What kind of girl threatens to do what she just said!"

"She wouldn't be able to do it," Theon said cockily but Jon could see that the older boy had turned pale at the threat the Maester Luwin translated. "She's only a girl, she isn't strong enough to even wield a sword."

Robb nodded but Jon just stared at the girl, finally noticing that when she moved her arms, the sleeves of her dress revealed a toned arm. She could harm him, he thought to himself as he gazed at his father, who seemed to have a weary look as he stared at the girl. His father noticed too or why else would he look at the girl with such weariness? He glanced at Arya, who looked at the girl with awe.

"I'm sure she'll learn propriety the more time she spends around the people here," His father said but Jon could see there were doubts in his eyes about whether or not the girl would truly learn it. There was also another emotion in his eyes but Jon could not distinguish what laid in his eyes. His father turned to look at his eldest daughter. "Sansa, I trust that you'll make the girl feel welcome and help her find her way around here."

His sister did not look happy with the instructions given by their father but kept her thoughts to herself. "Yes, father."

"I'll help too!" Arya declared, pushing herself off her chair and rushing towards the golden-haired girl, who smiled at the girl. "Hello, I'm Arya Stark of Winterfall but I can't remember your name because it sounds odd."

The girl laughed and her laughter was boisterous, not at all like those laughs he heard from the ladies or the bell like laughter his sister made. " _Uzumaki Naruto,"_ the girl said, pointing to herself, which earned raised eyebrows from everyone. _"Call me Naruto or Naru."_

"What does Uzu...Uzumaki mean?" His youngest sister asked, turning to the Maester Luwin who sighed.

The old man smiled. "Uzumaki is Naruto's last name or that was what I have been able to figure out from my limited conversation with her."

"Why does she put her last name first then? It's odd isn't it?"

Maester Luwin gave a feeble shrug. "I do not know Arya, it may be a custom from where she came. The people of the Free Cities have a different custom from us."

Arya nodded and turned to the older girl. "Come on, I'll show you around," she grabbed Naruto's arm and started to pull her towards the door.

"Arya! I'm the one who is supposed to show her around, not you!" Sansa called out as she got to her feet and strode after them with her head held high.

He had a feeling life had changed the moment Naruto entered the house.

* * *

How could two sisters be so different from each other? Naruto asked herself as Arya showed her the armory, making wild gestures as she tried to tell her the story behind them. Her sister Sansa just stood there, arms crossed with a haughty look on her face as she said something to Arya, who would just rolled her eyes at her. Weren't siblings supposed to be like each other? Though Hinata and Hanabi shared nothing in common, she thought to herself, thinking of her friend's gentle nature which was different from her sister's aggressive nature.

She wondered how Hinata would handle herself now that she wasn't here to protect her from the bullies, from her stupid cousin. Hinata would never try to fight her cousin, would never try to talk back against him and would only harm the bullies if they hurt someone precious to her friend. She curled her lips into a smile at that precious memory. Hinata can protect herself, she reminded herself, she may seem weak but her best friend was good with words and would use words to protect herself.

Though words would do her no good with her cousin.

 _"_ Naruto!" She blinked and rubbed the back of her neck when she saw Arya was standing there, arms on her hips as she tapped her feet with impatience for her to follow her. She gazed up at the tower, wondering if her old bodyguard would have any problems climbing it. Inu used to come up from her window, she thought to herself as memories of seeing her bodyguard standing in the shadow, watching her as she waited for her birthday to end. He probably would have been able to climb it, she thought to herself as she turned her head away from the tower.

"Do you want to see the tower?" Arya asked, gesturing to the tower and then to her while her sister scoffed at her. Naruto furrowed her eyebrows, stared at the tower and smiled before shaking her head at the younger girl. She didn't feel like exploring the castle, not when she could feel the wind against her face and feel the ground beneath her feet. If she didn't know the red-haired girl hated the idea of someone walking barefoot, she would do it. It felt like it had been weeks since she last been on the ground even though it might have been a few days.

Smiling widely, Naruto followed Arya and Sana, who still had her head high as she talked to her sister about something that she could not understand. She tilted her head when she saw the red head's frustration while the younger girl stuck her tongue out, grabbed her by the arm and started dragging her towards where the boys from earlier was practicing with wooden sword with her older sister trailing after them. Stopping in her tracks, Naruto gazed at the two boys who clashed with their swords and how the two of them didn't seem to notice them.

Naruto didn't miss how Arya's eyes seemed to shine with adoration at the sight of those two boys nor how the younger girl eyes seemed more fixed with the boy who looked more like her then the red-head boy.

" _Who are they?"_ Naruto pointed to the boys. " _Those two are your brothers right?"_

The brown-haired girl frowned, stared at her sister, who just gave a look that said she told her so. Naruto scowled at the red-haired girl before gazing at the two boys. _"Brother?"_ She repeated herself, pointing to the boys to Arya before gazing at Sansa, " _Sister,"_ she said pointing to Sansa to Arya. The brown-haired girl's eyes lit with understanding and with a huge smile, she nodded her head. The red-haired girl raised her eyebrows at her but it was Arya who spoke to the girl with what Naruto could only described as pride.

"She's asking if those two are our brothers," Arya explained, gesturing towards the two boys.

"Jon is only our half brother," Sansa said matter-of-factually, earning an irritated look from Arya and a raised eyebrow from the blond-haired girl.

 _"Is he your brother or not?"_ Naruto repeated herself, gesturing towards the two boys. Arya and Sansa nodded their heads but the blue-eyed girl could not help but notice how the red-haired girl had a haughty look on her face as she gazed at her brown-haired brother. Why would someone give their sibling such looks? Now that she thought about it, the boy sat far away from his siblings and parents which was very weird since shouldn't he be sitting next to them instead of that other boy? Then again this world was so different from her own.

"The redhead is Robb," Arya pointed to the shorter boy before pointing to the taller boy, "That's Jon."

Nodding her head, Naruto pointed to the shorter boy. " _Robb,"_ she stated before pointing to the taller boy, _"Jon."_ Arya nodded her head, smiling widely at her before watching with fascination as the two boys clashed their swords together. Sansa just shook her head and scoffed, almost reminding Naruto of the times where Sakura would look at her with disapproval for the pranks she did on the teachers and the students. Her pink-haired classmate never liked her and she never liked her classmate, not for giving her those looks but for having her head on the clouds.

Yet that girl was a shinobi and she wasn't one. She gritted her teeth at this, took in several deep breaths and returned her attention to the two boys. Their skills were quite close, she thought to herself, but the boy Jon was better with the sword then Robb or so she thought. She was never good in figuring out people's levels especially since they were using weapons she had never used before.

"Naruto, do you have any siblings?" Naruto blinked her eyes at the younger girl, who was staring at her with such large eyes. The younger girl frowned, pointed to her brothers and then to herself before gesturing at her. What was she trying to say to her? She had to ask herself, gazing at the younger girl in confusion. It only dawned to her what she was trying to say when the girl called out to her brothers, who kept their wooden swords by their sides as they went towards them.

" _No Arya. I don't have any siblings,"_ The two boys looked at the brown-haired girl, who nodded her head in understanding but the girl seemed to regret asking her the question. She shook her head and smiled at the younger girl, gazed at the four siblings and wondered about the Hokage, who must be worried sick about her.

The Hokage had been like her grandfather to her, always giving her presents on her birthday and giving her advice that she now regretted not listening too. He never told her she couldn't be a ninja, she thought numbly, dimly watching as the boy ruffled his sister's hair and how the red-haired girl stepped away from her smelling brothers. He always told her that her parents loved her, told her that she was very much loved and wasn't abandoned like the villagers claimed she did. He told her that if she became a chunin or turned sixteen he would tell her about her parents.

It seemed now that he would never tell her about them.

She shook her head and kept her smile fixed on her face when the two boys turned to talk to her. It wouldn't do her any good to show her sadness not now with whatever story the old man had managed to cook up. "How are you enjoying your tour of Winterfell, Mildady?" Naruto frowned and looked at Arya, who furrowed her eyebrows at her, before looking at Sansa for help but the girl also looked at lost at how to explain what her brother just said. She then looked at the boy Jon, who just stared solemnly at her before pointing to the castle all around her and then make a thumbs up and thumbs down gesture at her.

She smiled before nodding her head at Robb. It was a nice place, she thought to herself, gazing up at the blue sky. It was nothing like Konoha, for one with the whole place seeming to belong to the Stark family and secondly filled with so little people. It was weird that there was no one surrounding this place but she could not say anything about it. Still the building had a nice look towards it with it being made in stones and made in shapes that she had never ever seen before in her village.

Mentally shaking her head, Naruto stared at the quietest brother. He was very different from his siblings, Naruto thought to herself as she watched him watched the banter between Arya and Robb. He did not look as carefree as the other three, more serious then them as if he knew that there was no reason for him to be carefree. His eyes looked like hers too, she mused, noticing how despite having his siblings by his side that the boy seemed to be lonely.

Her throat started to become dry as she remembered Weasel, who despite wearing a mask had always seemed so sad even though he was only a couple of years older. She missed Weasel and Dog. Her ANBU guards were the closest thing she had for a friend but Weasel had a special mission or so the Hokage told her when she asked where her favorite guard was. Dog left ANBU when she turned ten, leaving her alone with the ANBU guards that did not felt like home to her.

She missed them, missed the taste of her salty ramen and the knowledge that the ANBU was watching her from afar, thinking she never noticed them. She missed hearing the greeting of Konohamaru, who would tackle her and demand her to teach him some cool jutsu she learnt from the older years. Now that she was here, she could no longer barge into the Hokage's office and have a talk to the old man. All that was gone for her and she didn't even realized how much she liked it until she lost it.

Even though she missed her home, Naruto knew she had to make do with what she had.

She was a survivor anyways and she was going to find a way to make her life in this world more fun for her.

* * *

"None of you have been able to find Naruto? How hard is it for you to find her?" Hiruzen said quietly, gazing at the group of shinobis that he ordered to find the blond-haired girl. All of them hesitated before nodding their heads at him. He grimaced, rubbed his temple and wondered for the hundredth time that year why he decided to take back his job. A memory of a screaming blond-haired baby rushed through his mind and the cries for her death and the promise of Kushina to protect her rushed through his mind. That little girl would have been killed if someone else took the mantle from Minato.

"Hokage-sama, not even Iruka is able to find Naruto," One of the shinobi called out, flickering his eyes towards the sullen Academy instructor. Hiruzen gazed at the scarred instructor, noticing how the young man's cheek had become thinner and the dark circles under his eyes that told him how many sleepless nights he had over this. "Every shinobi knows that only Iruka can find her, not even the ANBU could find her easily."

 _'See Old Man! I'm going to be the best ninja in the world! If not even the ANBU can find me then no one can!'_ Those were the words Naruto would declare to him when he first got the report that Naruto had managed to evade the new ANBU guards that he ordered to protect her. If he closed his eyes for just a moment, he could see the little girl's bright smiles.

Feeling his throat tightened, Hiruzen kept his voice even as he gazed darkly at his shinobis. "All of you resume searching, Kakashi stay back."

Everyone muttered to themselves before nodding their heads at him, slowly making their way out of the door with only Kakashi standing there with his hands in his pockets. To everyone else, the silver-haired man looked calm but Hiruzen knew from the way Naruto talked about her ANBU guard Dog that there was a bond between them. A bond that was still there if the way the man had his back stiffed as he waited for him to start speaking.

"Kakashi, do you have any idea on where Naru-chan would go?" He kept his hands together. "Out of all the shinobis I have in the village, you're the only one besides Iruka that know the girl's hiding places..."

"She isn't there," The silver-haired man interrupted, "I checked them. She isn't in any of those places Hokage-sama. None of my tracking dogs could trace her scent, it ends in the forest."

"That was the last place where Mizuki was, would it be possible that he..."

"No," Kakashi said and from the look of his eyes, Hiruzen knew that the young man would never ever consider the idea of the young girl being killed and he didn't blame him. There was no clue, no sign the young blonde was killed by Mizuki and until there was any clues of the blonde being killed, Hiruzen was going to send men to search for her and have Jiraya search for her.

He could not live with himself if he could not find the girl he came to see as his own granddaughter.

Hiruzen would never find the girl and his last thoughts would be of his grandson and the girl he had never found but never lost hope in finding.

* * *

 **A/N: Please review.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I want to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter and to everyone who added this story to their favorites and follows.**

* * *

Naruto scowled at the sight of the letters on the sheet of weird paper in front of her. For the past couple of weeks, the old man had been teaching her how to read and write their language, a language that used a whole different set of characters then she did. The sound of those characters were nothing like her language, it sounded easy to hear and she could now say those letters individually but she could not put the words together. If she did, she sometimes did not understand what she was saying.

She wondered how she learnt her language at school, had it been as difficult as it was now? It probably was, she thought to herself, and if it was as hard as this then she would have asked Dog to help her do her work but only after making her eyes big e, telling him with a pout about how hard it was. He would always roll his eyes, she remembered fondly, before grabbing a seat beside her and telling her with a slow voice what to do. It would then be the next day where he would bring a couple of child-friendly books to her, making her read it out loud to him until she was to his standard. She wished her old bodyguard was here, he might have been able to help her get some of those books but looking at the old man, she doubted she would find any.

 _North._ That was the second word she learnt after Winterfell and even though it had been a couple of weeks since she came here, Naruto could not help but feel that the language was still weird. Everything from the characters to the names the people were given was weird. Where was the name Yuki? Or hell even the name Sakura when she needed one? Even the name Sasuke would be nice to hear instead of the names Eddard and Robb.

Shaking her head, Naruto looked down at the strange paper, scrunched her eyes as she tried to spot any of the familiar words that the old Maester Luwin taught her. She could not see the words 'the' or 'was' but she could pick up a couple of names from the passage and the names of the neighboring countries or what she thought was countries.

How would Weasel deal with this? She wondered as she scanned through the parchment for any more words that were familiar to her. Would he have been able to perserve through this? He probably would, she concluded, the ANBU guard never complained about anything. He also never say anything with emotion but that had been fine with her after all he had been the one guard who was the closest person to age to her.

"Naruto."

She blinked her eyes and nearly screamed when she saw the old Maester looming over her shoulder. How could she not have notice him? She should have been able to hear the old man move! Out of everyone in her class besides Kiba, she had the best sense of hearing and smell. How could she not notice the creepy old man? The old man shook his head, gave her look that said she should pay more attention to her surrounding, before pointing at a particular country at the parchment.

"Do you know what this is?" She curled her lips, wondering if she should pretend to be dumb and let him tell her or if she should just answer him. It would do her no good to let him think she was dumb, she doubted the old man was going to buy her story. Still must she read it? It was not going to do her any good when she found way back home though she wondered if she ever would go home.

"Dorne."

"This one."

"Winterfell."

"And what about that one?"

She wrinkled her nose as she tried to read the letters in the map before nodding her head. "R-Riverlands," she tilted her head, "Home of Catelyn."

"Lady Stark," he corrected her.

She shrugged her shoulder. "Not my lady."

The old Maester sighed. "As long as you live here, she's your lady."

Naruto blinked and furrowed her eyebrows at him, making the old man sighed. He scratched his head before grabbing a parchment from the table. He took the quil from the table and started to draw some weird things on the paper. She nearly laughed when she realized that the drawing was supposed to represent her and the older woman, who stood on top of her. She narrowed her eyes and raised her eyebrows at the man, who nodded his head at her.

"No," she snapped, earning a raised eyebrow from the old man, _"No one can boss me around! I'm my own boss! The only person I'll even think of listening to is the Hokage! And she's not it! She's a bitter old hag!"_

"Naruto."

She rolled her eyes at him, realizing angrily that the old man didn't understand what she said. Taking in a deep breath, she closed her eyes as she tried to figure out what she should say to him. "I don't listen to her," she struggled to say, "I won't listen! Too mean."

"Mean? Lady Stark has nothing been nice to you."

She shook her head. "Not me. Jon."

The old man raised his eyebrows. "And why do you care?"

"Friend," she stated, curling her lips at him. "I care about my friends. I don't like friend sad. She makes him sad."

"Naruto..."

"Why mean to him?"

The old man sighed. "It's because he's a bastard."

"Bastard? He isn't one," the old maester blinked his eyes at her, "Bastards are like Theon. Jon isn't one. She treat Theon better."

The old maester shook his head at her. "One day you'll understand child."

"Bastards are everywhere," Naruto gazed blankly at the maps, "If she love Lord Stark, she must love Jon."

The old man sighed. "If only that was easy child."

 _"It's easy! Even the clan's bastard are treated better than the way the old hag treats Jon! It isn't like he asked for any of this,"_ She said angrily under her breath, earning a raised eyebrow from the old man. She smiled sweetly at the old man, who nodded his head at her, before gazing at her whisker marks. She didn't understand anything about this world and their treatment of people or why people kept staring at her birthmarks but she was going to learn it the more time she spend here in this world.

"Can I go now?" The old maester curled his lips at her. "I can read the map now."

He opened his mouth to argue with her but closed his mouth as if he knew that nothing he could say to her would make her stay. He nodded his head, gestured for her to go but not before telling her that she needed to come back after dinner to do another round of reading. She scowled but nodded her head at him. At least the old man was smart for letting her go now. Nothing in the world was going to make her stay in this dusty room and read another book in the room. Not even Weasel would make her do this, she thought, pulling her dress up as she made her way out of the room.

Maybe if she ran fast enough, she might catch the boys in their weapon training and if she was lucky enough, she might be able to find a better hiding spot from the mean old woman.

She grinned when she caught sight of Robb and Jon fighting with the wooden swords and smiled even wider when the wooden sword dropped from Robb's hand. The red head shook his head, turned his head around and smiled at her before making his way towards her. She always wanted to use one but not like those broad swords that their teacher had, no she wanted a katana especially since her own hero used one. Kushina Uzumaki was one of the best when it came to using a sword, even Dog praised her and it was hard to get her ANBU guard to praise anyone especially when it came to her. The guard claimed it was because he didn't want her to get a big head but she didn't have one! She really didn't have a big head!

"Are you here to watch my lady?" Naruto wrinkled her nose at Robb, who smiled even wider. It had been weeks since she came here and no matter what she said, the redhead kept calling her lady. She knew he did it to annoy her and she should be the bigger person and accept it but she wasn't a lady in anyway. Ladies were girls like Sansa and Hinata, not girls like her who loved to run around in the mud, fighting and insulting people. The world would end the day she acted like one.

"How was reading?" Jon asked, standing beside Robb.

She scowled. " _Boring."_

He furrowed his eyebrows at her, which told her that she had went back to speaking in her language instead of the language of the Common Tongue. "It wasn't fun," she scowled, "Swords is more fun."

"You sound like Arya when you talk like that My Lady." Robb said.

"Arya is smart," she gazed up at the clear blue sky, "Swords is better. I'm good with fighting, not with books."

Robb gave her a look of sympathy as if it to tell her she wouldn't be that good but Jon just stared at her, gazing at the wooden sword in his hand and then to her as if he knew she wasn't lying about this. Out of all the girls in her year, she was the best when it came to taijutsu, only being beaten by Sasuke. That bastard always beat her in a fight but one day she was going to beat him in a fight...though he was a ninja now and she wasn't one. It was all that Mizuki's fault she wasn't one! If she ever find Mizuki, she was going to make him regret making her angry.

She flickered her eyes at the wooden sword and then to Jon, who shook his head at her. She furrowed her eyebrows at him but he gestured distantly towards Sansa and her friend, who were making their way towards the tower. She groaned. "You didn't see me," the two of them blinked and before they could blink their eyes, she ran away like she always did whenever she didn't want to go to lessons.

Robb stared at Jon. "She's going to get into a lot of trouble."

"Naruto won't care," Jon sighed, "She's like Arya, she doesn't care about being a lady but it'll be a while before the Septa realized she isn't here."

"How long do you think it'll take before the Septa realized that Naruto skipped her lessons."

* * *

"Naruto has only attended five of her lessons My Lord! Can you talk some sense into the girl! Not even Lady Stark can talk to the girl about going to her lessons!"

Ned rubbed his temple as he gazed at the Septa, who looked annoyed as she continued to talk about how Naruto kept skipping her lessons. It did not surprise him that the young girl skipped them after all she reminded him of Lyanna and Arya with her willful nature and her desire to wield a sword. What were girls taught wherever Naruto came from? He asked himself, listening dimly as the Septa continued to rant about the girl.

"I will talk to Naruto," The septa stopped her rant, "I do not know what her reasons for skipping lessons but I'll try to talk some sense to her."

The Septa nodded her head stiffly. "Good! It's a waste a girl with her talent to not come and attend lessons."

"Talent?" That was a first, Ned thought to himself, thinking about the blond-haired girl. As far as he knew and observed, Naruto did not seem like the type of girl who would be talented in needlework. She seemed to be free and wild to be good in needlework but what did he know about the mysterious girl? She was a sign from the Old Gods but he still did not know if it was a good sign or not.

"She's very good with the needle," The septa said, nodding her head. "She is reluctant but she has more talent then Arya but still she is not as good as Sansa. However she holds it like how a seamstress holds a needle. It makes me wonder how a wild child like her could be good in holding a needle."

"Do you have any idea on where the girl might be?"

Septa Mordane shook her head. "If I knew My lord, I would not be here with you but perhaps Arya or one of your sons would know. She spends too much time with them especially with your bastard son."

It did not surprise him to know Naruto was close to Jon, the young girl had immediately became friends with most of his children, the only exception being Sansa but not from the lack of trying. The two girls were opposites, with Sansa loving everything that is associated with ladies and Naruto loving adventures. Shaking his head, he took in a deep breath and gazed out at the window where he could see his youngest daughter watching his sons and ward being instructed on using the sword.

Taking in a deep breath, Ned got off of his chair and slowly made his way towards the courtyard to ask his children on where their newest ward went off. Naruto may not be of the north but he could see that just like his daughter and sister, she had the desire of freedom and adventure. The girl was not suited to be a lady as his wife would always point out whenever she caught Naruto making rude jokes with the boys or saw how the girl had managed to find some breeches that suit her but despite knowing this, Ned knew the girl was not some kind of commoner even if her manners portrayed it.

Her looks were too similar to that of a nobility and the clothes she wore had been made out of expensive material.

He stopped walking once he reached the courtyard and just in time to see Jon unarm Theon. Had it really been nearly fourteen years since the rebellion ended? Ned asked himself as he stared at Jon and Robb. It felt as if it had been shorter than that as if his brother and father was only murdered just a few weeks ago. It always did at this time of the year, he thought to himself, taking in a deep breath.

"Father, what brings you here?" Robb asked, drawing his attention to his oldest son. He glanced at Arya, nodded at her to come to him before staring at Theon and Jon, who stood there with a solemn look.

Ned did not reply until Jon, Theon and Arya were right in front of him. "Do you know where Naruto have run off to?"

Robb and Theon shook their heads while Jon nodded his head at him. He gazed at Arya, who reluctantly nodded her head but he knew looking into his daughter's eyes that she would not tell him where the blue-eyed girl went. He sighed and looked at Jon who did not make any attempts to tell him where his new ward had run off to. "Where did she go Jon? I need to talk to her."

"She went into the forest," Everyone but Arya looked at him in alarm but Jon only grimaced, "She goes there to train Father," Ned blinked his eyes and wondered how could the young girl train in the forest, "And she will not move from the forest until the sun starts to set."

"And you have made no attempts to stop her?" He asked his son.

Jon frowned. "I tried it the first ten times but she will not listen Father."

"Have you told her of the dangers of a girl being by herself in the forest."

"I did and still she will not listen," Ned grimaced at hearing this, "She said that animals will not stop her from going into the forest and that no one could scare her."

Theon snorted. "That girl is a strange one I tell you. I never thought the girls of the Free Cities were like her."

No, the people of where she came from were like this, Ned nearly corrected, remembering the inappropriate clothes Naruto had worn when she first fallen down from the sky. The girls of the place where Naruto came from did not seem the type to care about dangers or manners like most girls here did. If they were like Naruto, they did not care one bit about what a girl should be like or have completely different ideas on them.

"Jon go search for Naruto," Arya opened her mouth to argue with him but one look from him and his daughter closed her mouth, "And when you find her, bring her straight to me."

"Yes father," Jon said, standing straight.

He hoped that Naruto wasn't too deep in the forest or so helped him, he was going to regret sending Jon after her.

* * *

Jon could not help but blink his eyes at the sight of Naruto hanging upside down on a tree. It should not surprise him since Arya hangs upside down whenver she got the chance but what surprised him was the fact Naruto was using her feet to hang upside down. How was that even possible? He thought to himself, gazing at the blue-eyed girl. How could she do something like that? Then again Naruto was very different from the people in Winterfell and he didn't know if it was good or bad.

Shaking his head, he slowly made his way under the tree and nearly laughed when the girl yelped and nearly fell down to the ground, only for her leg to stay still.

"Jon!" She screamed, making her way towards the tree trunk. " _What the hell are you doing! Give me some warning! I could have died right there!"_

He sighed. "I don't understand you, Naruto."

"You nearly killed me," He raised his eyebrows, crossed his arms and leaned against his leg, "Why are you here?"

"Father wants you."

Naruto frowned. "Why?"

"I don't know."

"I'm not going until I go up there," she declared, pointing towards the highest tree branch. "When I reach there, I go see him."

"It is his orders."

"He does not order me," Jon sighed, "He's not my boss."

"Naruto, you don't work for him."

She crossed her arms. "He makes decisions for me," she scrunched her eyebrows, "He does not ask me what I want."

"You're a girl and girls have very little choices," he pointed out to her. "It's the same for Arya."

She shook her head. "You say. In my home girls can choose. Being a girl does not matter."

"Here it matters," he pointed out to her, keeping his tone even as he tried his best not to show her his bitterness. "Birth and gender matter."

Naruto scowled. "Why? If I'm good, is that not enough?"

He couldn't help but sigh at this strange girl, wondering how he could explain it to her. "It's the way it is," he said, "You cannot change your gender like I can't change the fact I'm a bastard."

"You're not a bastard," she said sharply, shaking her head at him. "You're not one."

"I was born out of wedlock Naruto, for that alone says I'm a bastard."

She scowled, placed her hands on her hips and pointed to his face. "You're going to become old," she declared hotly, gazing up at the sky. "You think like that and you'll become like the old man Luwin. You're not old enough to say that."

"I can't deny what I am Naruto."

Naruto tilted her head, gazed at him with furious blue eyes and shook her head. "Why do you and everyone else make it a big deal? It isn't your fault," he blinked his eyes at her, "My home have many kids like you but they're loved by everyone."

"Naruto..."

"Catelyn is... _a bitch!"_ Jon didn't need to know Naruto's language to know that the girl had just said something bad about his father's wife. "It's not your fault but she blames you."

He sighed. "If your husband came with a child that is not yours, would you not be cold to the child too?"

"I'll leave him if I don't love him," he tilted his head at her, "If I love him then I'll stay. It's not kid fault, it's the father's fault. I won't hurt a kid like Catelyn does."

How could she talk so easily about leaving her future husband? And how could she say she would love the kid? Lady Stark was cold to him but she treated him better than some other women would have treated him. The woman also loved his father, anyone could see that so why did Naruto claimed she did not love his father enough. Sometimes Jon had to wonder how Naruto was raised, wonder what the people of the Free Cities were like because if they were like Naruto, maybe he would have an easier life there.

"Besides men who cheat on their wives are bad in my home," Naruto said quietly, causing him to blink his eyes at him. "People marry for love in my home...it's not normal for a man to cheat on their wife."

"Marriage isn't always about love," Jon reminded her as he remembered the wise words from the Maester Luwin. "Here it is politics."

Naruto furrowed her eyebrows before shaking her head at him. "That's for your siblings and Theon, not for you or me."

"Maybe one day a man might come for your hand in marriage one day Naruto. It isn't impossible for you," he pointed out to her, gazing at the girl. It would not be too hard for his friend to have men after her with her looks. He may not see many girls in Winterfell but from what he seen Naruto's beauty outshone every girl in the castle, including Sansa. With her long golden hair, bright blue eyes, and round whiskered cheeks, Naruto would find no problems in having men wanting to marry her.

Naruto laughed and shook her head before gazing at the tree. "No one will want to marry me," she said confidently. "If it's about politics, they'll have nothing from me. I would not love them if they wish for me to be like a lady as Lord Stark wants."

"You wish to spend the rest of your life like a maid?"

She shrugged her shoulder. "You? Marry for love or politics?"

"And who would marry me Naruto? I've no prospects," Naruto pursed her lips at him, "No father would allow me to marry their daughter and I do not wish to give my children the last name Snow."

Naruto shook her head. "Wife's name," she smiled at him before rushing towards the very tree where she was hanging from earlier, "Give them your wife's name. My last name is my mother's not my father's name. Change it, some people do that in my home. Find a way to change it, don't be sad."

He was learning something new about Naruto everyday, Jon mused to himself, propping himself to take a seat on the forest ground. It was the first time he heard Naruto talk about her parents or say so many words in the Common Tongue. He wondered what type of parents Naruto had for her to be okay with talking to bastards and wondered about the place she grew up in. One day, he thought, he wanted to see it and see if it was as nice as she claimed it was.

"Why do you have your mother's name and not your father?"

"I don't know," Naruto answered when she reached midway through the trees, "Old man never tell me. He said I know why when I have sixteen name days."

"Why sixteen?"

"Seen as an adult."

"Why not when you flowered?"

Naruto laughed. "I flower but I'm not a woman. I'm still a kid."

"Your home is strange."

That made Naruto laugh even harder. "This is strange," she finally said when she reached three quarters of the way towards her destination, "Here I've no freedom. To have no freedom is strange."

"Is freedom that important to you?"

"Yes."

Shaking his head, he watched as Naruto ripped one of the branches below her and used the ripped branch to make a mark on the tree. He blinked at the sight of the girl kicked the tree and landed gracefully on the forest ground. She shook her head, gazed at the tree and muttered something under her breath that made him wonder what his friend was saying this time. It must be frustrating for her, he thought, knowing from the sight of the scratches on the tree that she had not reached as far as she wanted.

"Time to go see Lord Stark," he blinked and raised his eyebrow at her, "If you are with me, I don't do as well as I like."

He snorted. "Maybe it is to do with you and not me."

"You make a joke," Naruto laughed, "I'm going to make you do that more. You look nicer when you smile, less stiff."

He did not know what to say to that but he did know that his face was heating up from Naruto's comment and he hoped that by the time he get back to the castle that Robb and Theon did not notice his face was flushed red.

* * *

"Why don't you attend any lessons with the Septa, Naruto?" Ned asked as soon as Jon came into his office with the blond-haired girl in tow. His son gazed at Naruto, who scowled and shook her head at his son, who just shook his head at her. He wondered how Jon could communicate with Naruto so easily with those gestures, Ned thought to himself, watching as his youngest son leave the room. "Well Naruto?"

"Why go? I'm not a Lady," he opened his mouth to protest but the blond-haired girl shook her head, "I'm not one and never be. I don't like dresses, I don't like any of the lessons! I know how to sew."

"How do you know to sew if you are not a lady?"

"Taught myself."

"Your mother did not teach you?"

"She's dead," she said blankly. "Mother and father are dead. They die on the day I was born."

So young, he thought mournfully, gazing at the blue-eyed girl. Now that she said it, everything she had been doing made some sense. The way she had threatened Theon on her first meeting with the boy and the way she looked at his children as they were being hugged by his wife made sense. It made even more sense as he remembered how the little girl had played with the orphan children in the village while Sansa looked away from them.

"Who took care of you if your parents were dead?" Naruto frowned and furrowed her eyebrows at him. He sighed and pointed to himself before pointing to her. "Now you are under my care before who took care of you?"

"Home for orphans," the young girl smiled widely, "After that I take care of myself."

He frowned. "And how were you able to do that?"

"I know how to cook and there's money for orphans," she nodded her head, "Old man gave it to me every month."

"Old man?"

Naruto frowned, tilted her head and snapped her finger. "Like you Lord Stark," he frowned and asked himself why would a Lord do something like that. Not even he would do that and he would like to think he was a good lord to his people. "He sees me everyday and let me play games with his grandson," she smiled sadly, "Konohamaru follow me around like Arya follow Jon."

He could see that Naruto was becoming more sad as she talked about the people of her home and that this conversation was straying from the original topic. It was time for him to go back to the topic at hand. "Tell me Naruto, do you not want to be a lady? The women in your home must have ladies did they not?" Naurto grimaced. "Why do you not want to take lessons to be a lady? Many girls your age would like Iike it."

"Girls in my village were allowed to fight," she said quietly, "Old man said my mother and father fight. Good fighers. I don't want to be like Sansa or Catelyn. I don't want to be mean to Jon."

"Naruto..."

"I don't want someone to save me," Ned felt his heart stilled at her declaration as the memory of his sister saying a similar thing to his father. He wondered if his father allowed his sister to have her freedom if her death could be prevented. He wondered if he listened to his sister's words if everything could have been prevented. He was snapped out of his thoughts when Naruto said. "I save myself. I know the truth and nothing Septa say is true."

"Naruto..."

"If god exist then why people hurt?" She gazed at him with somber eyes. "Prayer does not save people. If god exist then god will not blame Jon for being born and _I wouldn't_ _have the villagers ignore me like the way your wife ignores your son_. God will say it is not the fault of kid, kid is innocent. God will not want kids like Jon to be sad and act older then they should."

"Naruto, is it because of Jon that you've not been attending her lessons?"

"No," she answered . "I don't go because it's boring. Jon does not say anything about his feelings...I feel it."

"You feel it?"

" _Yes_ ," He did not need to know Naruto's language to know the girl admitted to feeling his son's emotions, "Very lonely and sad, more when he sees Catelyn. She's mean to him but you do not try to help him."

"Naruto..."

"My village have many bastards, they're loved by their mother and father," Naruto said softly, "The father's wife helps the kid and love them like their own. Catelyn does not do that, she does not love you if she does not do that."

"Your home is different from us," he reminded her, "Jon is a strain of her honour."

"She should see my home and see how women deal with it," she stared sadly at him, "Jon will make a choice and not a good one because of how she treats him. He does not wish for children because of his name but you do not care do you? You're just as bad as Catelyn."

He wanted to tell her he did but one look from his eyes and the girl smiled bitterly at him, giving him a look that said he was the worst person in the world. Ned wanted to tell the girl she should not question his treatment to his son but the girl was sent from the Old Gods for a reason. For a brief moment, he thought he saw his sister standing behind the girl, nodding her head in agreement with him but he shook his head, knowing that it could not be for no one could see the dead.

"If I talked to Lady Stark about her treatment towards Jon would you go to lessons."

"Ok," she sighed, "I can't promise but I try."

"Thank you Naruto."

She shrugged her shoulder. "Can I go now? I promise to play with Arya."

"Yes, you can go."

He doubt he could get his wife to treat Jon any better than she did but he did know that if he did not want the Septa to keep coming to him about Naruto that he needed to have a few words about his wife's treatment towards his son. Still how could Naruto feel emotions? Not even the stories the Old Nan told him as a boy had told him of those kind of powers. Was this another sign? He wondered, gazing out at the window. Was it a sign that winter was truly coming? Maybe it was but whatever the case was, he did know he needed to have a talk with his wife.

It was not going to be a pleasant talk that was for certain.

* * *

A/N: **Please review**


	4. Chapter 4

Catelyn was furious with him.

Ned could sense it as soon as he entered her bedchamber. He hadn't seen her since breakfast this morning and not from the lack of trying. He spent most of the morning, searching for his newest ward, who made it clear to him about what she thought of his wife and her treatment to his son. It was the first time in his life where he had to make a compromise with a child, just so she would attend her lesson. Once this was done, he spent the rest of the day, trying to figure out how to tell Catelyn about what one girl thought of her.

His wife stood in front of him with her arms crossed and as the flames flickered, which made her fiery hair even more fiery as if warning him about how he should choose his next words. The wrong words would earn him his wife's wrath.

"I talked to Naruto," he said calmly. "And I had a talk with her about skipping her lessons."

Catelyn didn't say anything. She just kept her lips pursed but he knew his wife long enough to know that she was judging the young girl for her behaviour. Despite having Arya, his beautiful wife didn't understand or know how to appease the wild nature of those two. Although Ned wasn't any better. He failed with his own sister so his daughter and ward would not be any different.

"And what of Arya?" His wife said coldly.

"What about Arya?"

"She skips lesson just like the girl," Catelyn stated and Ned sighed, knowing where the conversation was going.

"She skipped lessons before the girl came."

"Yes, she did," Catelyn admitted. "But she used to skip every three days but ever since that girl came, Arya has been skipping every day. The girl sets a bad example to her. All that child does is make jokes with boys and fight them with her fist. Arya asked me why she couldn't do the same thing. She kept asking me why wasn't Naruto scolded for it while she was! Ned, she is setting a bad example to her! Arya is getting confused on what's right. Sansa is old enough to know what is expected but Arya is still easily lead."

"That might be true."

"When the girl-"

"Naruto," Ned injected and Catelyn's eyes flashed angrily at his interruption.

"When Naruto stopped attending her music lessons and the Septa's teaching, Arya complained about how it isn't fair for her to keep attending! She is demanding for us to stop her lessons!" She placed her hands on her hips and shook her head vigorously.

Maybe it was time for him to tell him of why Naruto does what she does.

"I asked her why she skipped her lessons," Catelyn blinked her eyes and Ned took a deep breath. "And do you know what her answer is Catelyn? She believes what the Septa teaches is a lie."

"The Septa does not lie!"

"If the Gods exist then why do people suffer? This was her question to me," His wife blinked and Ned didn't blame her because Naruto was young. By all accounts, she should not be having such deep thoughts. "The girl does not worship the gods or rather, Naruto does not believe praying to the gods would solve anything. She once told me that praying to the gods doesn't save people. She thinks that if God truly did exist then he wouldn't blame Jon for being born. Do you know what her exact words were to me? 'God will not want kids like Jon to be sad and act older than they should'."

Catelyn narrowed her eyes at him. "What does a child like her know? She doesn't attend any of her lessons because of what the Septa says about bastards!"

"It's different from where she is from," His wife narrowed her eyes at him. "Her village is filled with baseborn children, she told me that their mother, father and even the stepparents love the child."

His wife scoffed. ". "I did more than enough for that boy! I let him stay with us and be raised with our trueborn children did I not? What does a mere child like her know about what I did!"

"That mere child you are talking about is judging you base on your actions," Catelyn's eyes flashed angrily and Ned knew his wife was going to argue with him about this. "She is a mere stranger and yet she is already judging you, what would the gods say?"

"The gods look…"

"If the gods look down on bastards then why let them be born?" His wife blinked and frowned at him. "This was the question that Naruto posed to the Septa and the Septa could not answer a child's simple question. She has only seen twelve namedays but she already pointed out something that one must consider when it comes to bastard children. She knows Jon shouldn't be made accountable for my sins."

"The place where Naruto comes from must be barbaric," His wife suddenly said, taking a seat on her bed. He didn't question her about her change of topic, not when she must take the time to process what he said. "For them to think like that about bastards and to not have taught such a girl on how to respect her elders."

"The place where the girl come from must see the world differently," Ned suggested. "There are a lot of countries that need to be discovered and perhaps the country Naruto was born in, have a different set of beliefs from us. The girl, herself, told me that the lord in her village always visited her with his grandson and gave her money every month."

"What of her father and mother?"

"They died on the day of her birth," Ned answered, closing his eyes as he remembered the sadness in the girl's bright blue eyes. He did not need to open his eyes to know that his wife was gaping at this revelation. "She did not tell me how they die but for her to lose both of her parents tell me that it was tragic."

"The poor girl but why would a lord take so much interest in an orphan girl?"

"Naruto did not tell me," Ned answered, thinning his lips. "I think once she learn how to speak our language well enough then I would ask her about this."

"Still, is it not strange for a lord to take a lot of interest on an orphan child?" Catelyn asked, giving him a small frown. "Perhaps, he was her father. This could be the only explanation on why the old Lord might have taken an interest in her."

"There is a possibility."

When Naruto could speak the language fluently, Ned would ask more about the girl's past and her relationship with the lord, who took so much interest in her well-being. It was very unusual for a Lord to have so much interest in a child, especially an orphan girl like Naruto. There was a chance that he could be her father or grandfather but Ned doubt it. If the man was her grandfather and if he loved that much then he would take her in. No, the man must have seen something in the girl to care for her.

She should be married," Catelyn said, snapping him from his train of thought.

He blinked his eyes at her before shaking his head. "No."

"Why not? She's of the right age!"

"Barely," he argued, remembering the number of namedays Naruto told them she had. The girl's body was a little bit too developed for a girl her age that much Ned knew from the amount of times he caught the girl wearing one of the boy's tunic but, it didn't mean the girl was ready for a big commitment.

"The servant told me the girl had already experienced her first bleeding and there're many men in Winterfell who would require a wife," His wife continued eagerly before sighing. "Though if the girl continue in her ways any longer then there are not many men who would want to marry her. But if you find her husband now then she accustom to the ways of Winterfell more quickly than I ever did."

"If you think Naruto getting married would make Arya start acting like a lady then you are wrong," Ned said, closing his eyes as the memories of his sister ran through his mind. His wife pursed her lips at him. "If you think Naruto marrying someone would make her act like a lady then you need to find another mode of action as I doubt Naruto would change her ways for a man. The girl is too wild and free to consider the words of her husband. I'm not doing this to hurt you, my lady but as long as the girl's actions doesn't impenge on the honour of this house. I will not change the girl's beliefs."

He would not tell her that even if he wished to change the girl's ways and her beliefs, he would find problems to do so. After all, how does one change a person who came from the old gods? Or change someone who brought joy to the lives of his children? He could not find it in himself to do so.

No, it was better to leave Naruto the way she was now.

* * *

Naruto folded her arms and watched closely as Robb unhand Jon's wooden sword. If there was one thing she noticed about those two, it was that Jon hold himself back whenever he fought with his half-brother. It was obvious if someone took the time to observe them that it was truly Jon, who was the better swordsmen. Why doesn't he just show them that he was a better fighter then his brother? If it was her, she would be showing of.

Seriously, what was the point of holding himself back?

"Did you find enjoyment from watching the match, milady?" Robb asked her when Jon and him approached her. She scowled at him, earning a bigger smile from the red-haired boy. If it weren't for the fact that he was Ned's son, she would have punched him in the nose for calling her a lady.

"Did you skip another lesson again?" Jon asked.

Naruto grinned and nodded. "I know how to sew. No point of me going."

"You know how to embroid people's sigil into cloths?"

Naruto didn't like the way Jon looked at her. Did he really believe she couldn't know to embroid a stupid wolf into a cloth just because she always skipped her lessons? It was a little bit more difficult compared to mending her torn pants and shirts but it was still something. Besides, whenever her clan's sigil was torn from her shirt then Naruto always had to stitch it back together.

She had to do it in honor of her mother's clan.

"Only my mother's sigil," Naruto admitted, gazing out at the sky. "Don't know others and don't want to."

"You'll not embroid your husband's sigil?" Robb asked her, blinking his eyes.

Naruto pursed her lips and shook her head. "Why? Man should do it too, not just female. Do you think everyone is lucky? Not every boy and girl have parents or servants. Boys must learn if they want to survive. The world isn't nice to the weak. _To survive, you must be willing to do anything._ "

Even though she had been here for a month now, she still struggled to find the exact words to explain what she meant and could never stop herself from going back to speaking in her own language. Maybe she should practice the language more but Naruto couldn't bring herself to do it.

"What does that mean?" Robb asked, knitting his eyebrows together.

Naruto licked her lips and stared at the tower, where she could see Robb's mother staring at her with her lips pressed into a thin line.

"Not everyone is lucky," Naruto replied, smiling sadly. "People don't have what you have. Not everyone have parents."

"But what about family members? They can take care can't they?" Her friend asked, looking so confused that the blonde forgot that the boy wasn't like her. It was so easy for her to forget that Robb didn't know how lucky he was to have a loving family or to be rich. All her life, she heard rumors that the nobles were stuck up but seeing Robb and Ned and even the others made her doubt the rumors.

"Not if they are dead or if they don't like their family," Naruto answered, remembering how one of the orphans in the orphanage admit they had a family out there but the uncle didn't want to take care of him. That boy had been so nice that she had been tempted to prank his uncle's business for being cruel to him.

If it weren't for the fact that the boy was soon adopted by another loving family, she would have done it.

"Then where do they go?" Jon asked, looking at her in concern.

Naruto smiled. "Home for orphans of course."

"An orphanage?"

The blonde tilted her head and nodded her head, earning a frown from the two boys, who looked so sympathetic that Naruto just wanted to scowl at them. "It isn't bad. The kids treat each other like family…people take you in if they like you. Don't act like you know what it means."

The last few words were a struggle for her to say but Naruto figured out how to say those last few words to them. She wished she could have a dictionary shoved into her head because it was getting difficult to tell them about what life in her village was like. She needed them to know an orphanage wasn't all that bad for kids not like her. Even though her experience of the orphanage wasn't all that great, it had been a safe heaven for the other kids.

In fact, the orphanage would have been better if it weren't for the matron, who hated the sight of her.

"And you do?" Jon asked.

Naruto nodded her head. "I've no parents. No aunts or uncles. I'm alone."

Well that wasn't exactly true. Before she came to this world, she had Inu. Inu, who told her stories about the Fourth Hokage from the shadows. He was the one who comforted her when she had nightmares, the one who told her that she could be whatever she wanted. He was the one person, besides the Hokage, that Naruto could trust to put down her guard.

In some ways, Inu was more then just her guard and friend, he was like the big brother that she always dreamed of.

"How old were you when you lost your parents?" Robb asked, looking so curious that the blonde couldn't bring herself to be hurt at remembering her lack of parents. Even though it had been years since she lost her parents, the blonde couldn't help but feel the loneliness an orphan could feel.

"They died on the day I was born."

Or so that was what the Hokage had told her when she asked him if her parents were truly gone and didn't abandon her like the other villagers said they were. Sometimes, she wondered if it was better for her to have never know them. At night, especially on the cold nights, she dreamt of what her parents would act like. Her mother would give her a warm smile and tell her that the people were wrong in calling her a monster.

"I'm sorry for your loss."

Naruto shook her head and looked at the wooden sword in Robb's hand. "Why are you sorry? I didn't know them."

"But aren't you sad? You never got to know them. I can't imagine not knowing my parents…"

"I'm okay with it," Naruto answered, undoing her hair from the braids. "Some kids lost their parents when they know them. They are sadder then me…they knew them."

Sasuke had it worse than her because unlike her, he knew his parents and watched them get murdered. Even now, it was easy for her to remember how blank the bastard's eyes were when he entered the classroom. All the girls had swoon, wishing to heal him from his broken heart and the blonde hated them for making his pain so romantic. No matter how much of a bastard he was, not even he deserved his problems to be treated like that.

"Hey...let's play a game!"

It was better for her to try to forget her problems for now.

* * *

Catelyn felt her lips twitched as she stared down at her dirtied female ward, who didn't even try to look sorry for not looking one bit clean. This girl would be an even more beautiful little girl if she learnt her manners and dressed properly, not like a little boy from the streets. Did she not care about what people would say about her? No, if she did then she wouldn't even bother being friends with that boy.

"What do you have to say for yourself? Young lady! Ladies don't dirty their dresses!"

Naruto stared back at her and shrugged her shoulder. "I'm not a lady."

If it weren't for the fact she was taught that ladies didn't shake people then Catelyn would shake this little girl and slap her for her rudness. Even if she was not a lady then she should be honored for being taught what a noble woman should learn. So many girls would kill to learn what Naruto was supposed to learn.

"As long as you live here then you are going to be taught how to be a lady," Catelyn said, reigning in her temper.

"Why? I don't want to be a _bitter old hag_ like you."

Catelyn clenched her hands into a fist. She did not need to be proficient in the girl's language to know she insulted her. Did these people not teach her how to respect her elders? Not even Arya would speak like this. This girl was a barbarian for speaking so rudely to her. She needed to make Septa teach the girl about the importance of respecting people, who were higher then her.

"You don't speak to me in that tone," Catelyn finally said once she regin in her temper. "I'm your elder and superior, you must speak to me with a tone of respect."

Naruto raised her eyebrows. "You're not my boss, Catelyn. You cannot tell me how to talk. You are mean to Jon. You hurt him because he isn't your son. You hate him because he is Lord Stark's son. If Jon had another father, you would be nice to him?"

Catelyn could see that Naruto was struggling to say those words but it was the first time the girl spoke in complete sentences. She stared at the young girl, who honestly looked curious to hear the answer to her question. If Jon had a different father then would she be nice to the boy? There was a possibility. He would not be the proof that Ned had loved another woman or slept with another woman during the war. If the boy wasn't even near her then she would be happy. She opened her mouth but closed it when the blonde shook her head.

The girl dared to look at her with disgust.

"Jon is good," Naruto whispered, staring at her with so much anger that Catelyn almost felt like she could turn to fire from the anger radiating through the girl's eyes. "He is kind. He loves his brothers and sisters. He protects them but you don't trust him. He stares at his brothers and sisters with envy when you hug them. He wants to be loved like them but you are a monster. You can't love a boy who wants to be loved."

"You don't know anything girl."

The blonde smiled and laughed at her words. "I know more then you. I don't believe in words that are not true. I see the world as it is. You cannot love Jon because he isn't your son. You hate him because he looks more like Lord Stark then Robb and Bran does. You think girls must not fight because men hate girls who can fight. You want Arya to be like Sansa and ignore her being bullied by Sansa because you think it will make her change her ways. You want me to act like you and Sansa. I cannot because I am my mother's daughter. Inu told me that I act like my mother. You think bastards are born from sin."

Where was the girl learning this language from? Catelyn couldn't help but ask herself as Naruto stared at her with eyes that looked older then they should be. Just one week ago, Naruto could not speak this fluent but now she was almost talking like a native speaker. She was saying things that no child should be able to notice.

"You are wrong."

"One of the village leaders was a bastard," Catelyn blinked her eyes and Naruto smiled at her. "The Fourth Hokage's parents were not married when they had him or so Inu tell me. He was an orphan like me too but, he climbed to the top. Inu is a bastard too. His parents were not married when they had him but he is good and kind. He protect me from the people who wanted to hurt me. He tells me stories when no one else did. He is not a child born from sin. He is a child born from parents that loved each other."

"You do not understand child," Catelyn said, clenching her hands into a fist. "If your husband cheats on you and brings another woman's child into your house then you can talk."

She should not feel so irrational. Catelyn knew better than to let a child's word influence her but it was hard not to let the child's words anger her. Naruto spoke as if she knew everything, like she experienced her pain but the child had not. She did not have to come to her new home to find out that her husband had another child. She did not have to hear whispers about the boy's potential mother.

No, the girl could not understand.

"If he brings me another woman's child then I leave him," Naruto stated. "I do not need him to give me happiness and if he loves me then he would fight for me. If he cheats on me then I give him a chance. If he cheats on me twice then I will leave him. A man that cheats on me twice, does not love me."

In some ways Naruto was like Sansa, Catelyn thought, staring pitifully at the little girl. She thought marriage was about love and not about politics. The moment Ned took in this girl and decided to give her lessons like their daughters, her chances of marrying for love was lessen. This young girl had a small potential of being married to some lord's fourth son or perhaps a third son if she was pretty enough.

She did not realize that the possibility of love is based on luck.

"You think I'm stupid for thinking like that."

"I did not say anything."

"I do not believe in fairy tales," Naruto declared. "I have no prince to save me but I will not marry unless it is to someone that I love and respect."

"You cannot stay here forever!"

"I will not stay here forever," Naruto pointed out. "I will become a warrior like the stories Arya loves. I will be a strong woman like my mother was. I will find a man like my father. Inu said my father loved my mother even though she was not like the other woman. I will find someone who will accept me. I will not marry a man who loves another."

 _I will not have your fate._

Naruto did not need to say those words but Catelyn could hear it clearly.

"You will not find anyone who will accept you the way you are."

"I will not change my way for a boy," Naruto declared. "I will be a warrior."

And with those words Naruto left her to ponder over their talk.

* * *

A/N: I know it has been a long time since I updated but it was hard to write this chapter. Please review and tell me what you think.


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